NEED HELP Wondering what color HID is best suited for night driving?

[DIY Fixer]

On my 03 Envoy I bought the 10000K 55w HID kit which were a Pure Blue light color. Now over the years the color is beginning to fade away very badly and I can't barely see anything at all while out driving at night.

I bought the kit from here http://www.carxenonhidkits.com/9006-xenon-lights-hid-conversion-kit-slim-ballast-55w/ because their stuff are well made and great customer service too.

I am thinking of going with the 6000K HID bulb to replace my ugly 10000K HID bulb. I seen video were 6000K and 55w Ballast it get up there to very bright.

Here are the color I can choose from

• 3000k=Full yellow light. Most popular selection for fog lights.
• 4300k=Full pure bright white light. Factory oem color.
• 6000k=Diamond white. Mix of white and blue.
• 8000k=Rich blue light. Full blue light with no tints of purple or white.
• 10000k=Pure blue light. Deep blue light with tints of purple.
• 12000k=Rich purple light. Deep purple light with no tints of blue.

 

[Sib]

Check out www.theretrofitsource.com (TRS). Any kelvin between 4300k-6000k is going to give you the most usable light. The higher the kelvin temperature, the less lumens you will get out of it.

 

[littleblazer]

My 4300k is pretty okay, but some people don't like the slight yellow... the blue bothers me though so choose your poison. The more blue you go the more it tends to reflect back at you I believe.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Check out www.theretrofitsource.com (TRS). Any kelvin between 4300k-6000k is going to give you the most usable light. The higher the kelvin temperature, the less lumens you will get out of it.

Sib now I have to think should I get bulbs replacement only or the whole kit. The place I got it from has a Lifetime Warranty.

 

[kickass audio]

I myself run 8000k 50w hid bulbs on mine and because of the added power it looks like 6000k bulbs (mostly white with a slight hint of blue in the color). If I were to run my 8000k bulbs off a 35w ballast, it would look like an 8000k bulb.

Some things to consider and be warned about though:

1.) If you take a bulb designed for 35w and run it off a higher wattage ballast, it will take the color and drop it down the kelvin scale (for example a bulb normally rated for 6000k will be around a 4300k bulb when connected to a higher wattage ballast)
2.) If you take a bulb designed for 35w and run it off a higher wattage ballast, it will shorten the bulbs life dramatically so if you plan to run higher wattage, make sure you get a bulb designed for that wattage ballast
3.) If you get into higher wattage hid bulbs, be warned that it can cause the housings to melt (especially our fog lights) or melt the chrome off the hid reflector bowls from the increased heat output so do not use higher wattage bulbs on small light housings
4.) If you want better light output, I strongly recommend retrofitting a projector into your headlights as the stock reflector bowl is not designed for hid bulbs and affects the beam pattern and blinds other drivers too if improperly adjusted. I myself run 64mm projectors on my headlights and they are bi-xenon projectors so they have the flap for low and highs built in.

 

[DIY Fixer]

My 4300k is pretty okay, but some people don't like the slight yellow... the blue bothers me though so choose your poison. The more blue you go the more it tends to reflect back at you I believe.

Right now I have the 10000K with 55w Ballast and still can't see anything at all on the road. Kit has been on vehicle for over two years since 2014. Light output was great and all of a sudden it has been degraded.

Stupid thing about these new models now that their Daytime Running Light is being used by the low beam. Back when I had the 99 GMC Jimmy all their daytime running light was being use by the High Beam.

I guess I have to do what MAY03LT did to his TrailBlazer in order to save me some precious light.

 

[DIY Fixer]

I myself run 8000k 50w hid bulbs on mine and because of the added power it looks like 6000k bulbs (mostly white with a slight hint of blue in the color). If I were to run my 8000k bulbs off a 35w ballast, it would look like an 8000k bulb.

Some things to consider and be warned about though:

1.) If you take a bulb designed for 35w and run it off a higher wattage ballast, it will take the color and drop it down the kelvin scale (for example a bulb normally rated for 6000k will be around a 4300k bulb when connected to a higher wattage ballast)
2.) If you take a bulb designed for 35w and run it off a higher wattage ballast, it will shorten the bulbs life dramatically so if you plan to run higher wattage, make sure you get a bulb designed for that wattage ballast
3.) If you get into higher wattage hid bulbs, be warned that it can cause the housings to melt (especially our fog lights) or melt the chrome off the hid reflector bowls from the increased heat output so do not use higher wattage bulbs on small light housings
4.) If you want better light output, I strongly recommend retrofitting a projector into your headlights as the stock reflector bowl is not designed for hid bulbs and affects the beam pattern and blinds other drivers too if improperly adjusted. I myself run 64mm projectors on my headlights and they are bi-xenon projectors so they have the flap for low and highs built in.

What should I search for in order to find Housing Projector for my 2003 GMC Envoy. My old GMC Jimmy I seen they came with stock projector and HID from the factory and they did output light farther.

Some GM vehicles now I seen doesn't have projector which I don't know why. Be easier for us to not have to buy another housing for HID only to replace stock Halogen.

 

[Blckshdw]

There are no plug and play projector headlights for Envoys. You'd have to retrofit them yourself, which has been done in the past.

 

[DIY Fixer]

BlckShdw yeah I see that while searching on google. https://www.google.com/search?q=200...gB&dpr=1#q=2003+GMC+Envoy+headlight+projector I don't want to do any work to have projector headlight housing. I will keep searching though if I have to.

 

[Blckshdw]

I don't want to do any work to have projector headlight housing.

Your screen name is grossly misleading!!

 

[Sib]

Lol

 

[DIY Fixer]

Your screen name is grossly misleading!!

I am a DIY but I don't do much on Headlight retrofitting. I am the type of person to find, buy and install.

 

[littleblazer]

Just to give you an idea... granted they're projectors I retrofitted last year. There's no comparison.

 

[kickass audio]

You can buy projector lights for the trailblazer, idk about the envoy but those are complete crap ebay lights and we would all ridicule you for buying them. haha.

You need to measure the opening of your headlight. What i did was take a ruler and remove the low beam bulb and the metal reflector that goes in front of the bulb. I then used the ruler since it was not that wide to stick in through the bulb opening of the OEM reflector and measured the distance from where the ruler touched the clear lens of the headlight. Write down that measurement. Then I measured the smallest measurement on the OEM reflector bowl for the width and height of the low and high beam openings. On the envoy the low beam is bigger than the high beam for the width and height however the depth is a bit bigger on the high beam.

Then once I had my measurements for the max size, I went onto the website I chose to buy my HID projectors from (futurevisionhid.com) (beware, they are great for customer service but are costly, I recommend them but there are cheaper ones out there). I found that their 45 and 64mm projectors would work on my truck and the 74mm was too wide for the OEM housing. I originally started with 45mm projectors that I did a really shitty job retrofitting so I had removed them and bought the 64mm projectors since the bigger the projector, the more light output you can achieve.

I then opened up the headlights (hardest part by far) and used the dremel to widen the opening where the bulb is inserted to make just enough room to slide the threaded part of the aftermarket projector into and then I dremel the backside of the reflector bowl as flat as I can and screw in the projector to the reflector bowl. I was smarter my second time around and actually unscrewed the reflector bowl from the entire headlight housing. I strongly recommend doing this as you need to brace the projector firmly on the reflector bowl to prevent it from wobbling when hitting bumps and stuff. Once I had the projector mounted I mounted the whole housing on my truck without the clear lenses installed and fired up the lights on my level driveway. I had to adjust the light so the cutoff was perfectly level and then I bought the lights in the house and used black windo-weld to seal the lens to the body of the headlight. I left the light to cure for a day and installed the lights and all is well.

I will also say that I would do this on the OEM lights if yours are in good condition. The aftermarket ones I bought from rockauto were TYC brand and they suck ass. The reflector bowl was so crappy that it popped out of the ball socket that makes the reflector adjust. The OEM ones on my truck were nice and stiff and did not bounce around like my aftermarket housings did. Also I would recommend getting some silicone spray and lube up the adjustment screw on the headlight so it turns better to adjust your headlights after the retrofit.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Just to give you an idea... granted they're projectors I retrofitted last year. There's no comparison.
View attachment 74204 View attachment 74205

I seen a kit online that the site said it will work.... http://www.car-parts-accessory.com/GMC/Envoy/Headlights/Retrofit+Projector/ Price not too bad $99 with $14.99 shipping.

Only problem I have is that I only drive one vehicle so I have no time to retrofit them myself. Might just stick with stock headlight housing and adjusting the light is easy since there only one plastic torx screw that move light up and down. Not side to side.

 

[DIY Fixer]

You can buy projector lights for the trailblazer, idk about the envoy but those are complete crap ebay lights and we would all ridicule you for buying them. haha.

You need to measure the opening of your headlight. What i did was take a ruler and remove the low beam bulb and the metal reflector that goes in front of the bulb. I then used the ruler since it was not that wide to stick in through the bulb opening of the OEM reflector and measured the distance from where the ruler touched the clear lens of the headlight. Write down that measurement. Then I measured the smallest measurement on the OEM reflector bowl for the width and height of the low and high beam openings. On the envoy the low beam is bigger than the high beam for the width and height however the depth is a bit bigger on the high beam.

Then once I had my measurements for the max size, I went onto the website I chose to buy my HID projectors from (futurevisionhid.com) (beware, they are great for customer service but are costly, I recommend them but there are cheaper ones out there). I found that their 45 and 64mm projectors would work on my truck and the 74mm was too wide for the OEM housing. I originally started with 45mm projectors that I did a really shitty job retrofitting so I had removed them and bought the 64mm projectors since the bigger the projector, the more light output you can achieve.

I then opened up the headlights (hardest part by far) and used the dremel to widen the opening where the bulb is inserted to make just enough room to slide the threaded part of the aftermarket projector into and then I dremel the backside of the reflector bowl as flat as I can and screw in the projector to the reflector bowl. I was smarter my second time around and actually unscrewed the reflector bowl from the entire headlight housing. I strongly recommend doing this as you need to brace the projector firmly on the reflector bowl to prevent it from wobbling when hitting bumps and stuff. Once I had the projector mounted I mounted the whole housing on my truck without the clear lenses installed and fired up the lights on my level driveway. I had to adjust the light so the cutoff was perfectly level and then I bought the lights in the house and used black windo-weld to seal the lens to the body of the headlight. I left the light to cure for a day and installed the lights and all is well.

I will also say that I would do this on the OEM lights if yours are in good condition. The aftermarket ones I bought from rockauto were TYC brand and they suck ass. The reflector bowl was so crappy that it popped out of the ball socket that makes the reflector adjust. The OEM ones on my truck were nice and stiff and did not bounce around like my aftermarket housings did. Also I would recommend getting some silicone spray and lube up the adjustment screw on the headlight so it turns better to adjust your headlights after the retrofit.

What did you use to open the headlight front plastic lense cover? How did you do it.

 

[Sparky]

What I did for my retrofit was buy an extra set of housings so I could take my time getting it done right (and take my time I did, 2 years lol I got sidetracked a lot). My stock driver side had a yellowing lens so I wanted new to get fresh clear lenses anyway.

Stock housings require you to cut the lenses off as they are permasealed (plastic welded essentially). Some aftermarket ones use Butyl rubber instead that can be heated up and softened to let you pull the lens off. That's how the ones I got were. Eagle Eyes and Depo usually don't permaseal that I've seen so they are good candidates for heat and open methods.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Sparky I got you so most headlight housing you can heat up to take them out but most of the other one require cutting the glue out. I also look at the website Kickass Audio said he bought his kit from.... http://www.futurevisionled.com/products/hid-led-projectors.html Price not too bad but I am only looking for the projectors only as I do already have a HID Kit in mine. Don't like getting extra parts that not even needed for the job.

 

[MAY03LT]

For me 4300 (35w) has been the best for driving at night.

 

[Capote]

I used to be in the 10K-15K club.......but for a long while now have been using 8K's, which are actually useful and I can see (as well as our garbage housings can reflect light). My right headlight is burning out, so i'm gonna go ahead and get something on TRS, since they make some damn good HID's. TRS is your best bet man.

 

[littleblazer]

I too bought another set of housings since mine were junk... but my retrofit took all of 20 hours of working time. I still tweak them a bit but they're close. The bulb seating was hard.

 

[Mounce]

4300k @55w (claimed 55w at least, cheap old eBay ballasts so who knows) on my DD in morimoto mini h1's. Damn good at night, out does most other cars in terms of light output.

 

[Sparky]

For a simple retrofit it is hard to beat the Morimoto Mini H1 from TRS. About as simple as it gets to mount that projector in the housing with the threaded mounting shaft.

 

[DIY Fixer]

For a simple retrofit it is hard to beat the Morimoto Mini H1 from TRS. About as simple as it gets to mount that projector in the housing with the threaded mounting shaft.

Sparky is retrofitting those Morimoto Mini H1 as easy as this guy in the video makes it look like.

 

[Sparky]

Pretty much. If not going crazy (like I tend to lol) it can go fairly quickly. Hardest part is probably getting the lenses off (just a bit tedious) and then sealing them back up, depending on how you reseal them. I opted to dig out all the old butyl sealant and use clear RTV to seal the lenses. I think in hindsight it would have been better just to heat everything back up again and simply press the lenses back on, as likely the butyl would have resealed just fine once heated and gooey again.

 

[Capote]

...

 

[DIY Fixer]

I am still doing a bunch of research on where to buy and what to buy to do the retrofitting of those Projectors. I was thinking about buying another set of stock Headlight Housing so I can work on them while I have the original in the vehicle.

Like Kickass Audio said in his reply www.futurevisionled.com has some retrofit projector but it pricey because it come with HID Kit.

Anyone know where I can buy a Retrofit Projector for my 03 Envoy that is not a Bi-Xenon version.

 

[Sparky]

What's wrong with a bi-xenon? Epic high beams yo.

I'm not sure what is available that has the same good output or ease of install as the Mini H1. If you didn't want to use the high beam function of it you could just not hook up the solenoid so it never opens. Would be a waste to do that though.

 

[DIY Fixer]

What's wrong with a bi-xenon? Epic high beams yo.

I'm not sure what is available that has the same good output or ease of install as the Mini H1. If you didn't want to use the high beam function of it you could just not hook up the solenoid so it never opens. Would be a waste to do that though.

Sparky I like having to do less electrical work for that install. How would you go about installing that Bi-xenon solenoid wire. Do you just tap it into the High Beam stock wire and your done. It seem like that how the guy in the youtube video I have shown did it that way.

 

[Sparky]

Pretty much. Do that, and do the high+low mod at the BCM (easy with diode, there is info how to on the site someplace, I forget where exactly) and boom, epic high beams. Takes maybe an extra 10 minutes to do.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Here is the product I am talking about Sparky that is not a Bi-Xenon... http://www.futurevisionled.com/products/hid-led-projectors/48mm-driving-low-beam-projector.html and http://www.futurevisionled.com/products/hid-led-projectors/48mm-passing-high-beam-projector.html

Isn't 48mm too small because there also a 64mm and 74mm kit on that site.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

I just have simple 9012's in the stock housing and I think they're great, a nice bright white light.

 

[Sparky]

48mm is quite small, less than 2 inches. I'd do at least the 64mm as that is about the size of most decent projectors (2.5 inches). Thing is, there is a lot more to a good projector than the lens size, and I have no idea how good the optics are on those.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Pretty much. Do that, and do the high+low mod at the BCM (easy with diode, there is info how to on the site someplace, I forget where exactly) and boom, epic high beams. Takes maybe an extra 10 minutes to do.

After the guy in that video said he have a 4Hi Mod I search for it and found a bunch of infos and videos. All you do is take the diode and solder it to the wire but Diode with the markings is pointing towards the low beam side. I am not sure what kind of Diode are being use though.

 

[DIY Fixer]

48mm is quite small, less than 2 inches. I'd do at least the 64mm as that is about the size of most decent projectors (2.5 inches). Thing is, there is a lot more to a good projector than the lens size, and I have no idea how good the optics are on those.

Kickass Audio wrote a very descriptive reply on how to do it and what to do earlier.

You can buy projector lights for the trailblazer, idk about the envoy but those are complete crap ebay lights and we would all ridicule you for buying them. haha.

You need to measure the opening of your headlight. What i did was take a ruler and remove the low beam bulb and the metal reflector that goes in front of the bulb. I then used the ruler since it was not that wide to stick in through the bulb opening of the OEM reflector and measured the distance from where the ruler touched the clear lens of the headlight. Write down that measurement. Then I measured the smallest measurement on the OEM reflector bowl for the width and height of the low and high beam openings. On the envoy the low beam is bigger than the high beam for the width and height however the depth is a bit bigger on the high beam.

Then once I had my measurements for the max size, I went onto the website I chose to buy my HID projectors from (futurevisionhid.com) (beware, they are great for customer service but are costly, I recommend them but there are cheaper ones out there). I found that their 45 and 64mm projectors would work on my truck and the 74mm was too wide for the OEM housing. I originally started with 45mm projectors that I did a really shitty job retrofitting so I had removed them and bought the 64mm projectors since the bigger the projector, the more light output you can achieve.

I then opened up the headlights (hardest part by far) and used the dremel to widen the opening where the bulb is inserted to make just enough room to slide the threaded part of the aftermarket projector into and then I dremel the backside of the reflector bowl as flat as I can and screw in the projector to the reflector bowl. I was smarter my second time around and actually unscrewed the reflector bowl from the entire headlight housing. I strongly recommend doing this as you need to brace the projector firmly on the reflector bowl to prevent it from wobbling when hitting bumps and stuff. Once I had the projector mounted I mounted the whole housing on my truck without the clear lenses installed and fired up the lights on my level driveway. I had to adjust the light so the cutoff was perfectly level and then I bought the lights in the house and used black windo-weld to seal the lens to the body of the headlight. I left the light to cure for a day and installed the lights and all is well.

Kickass Audio how did the 64mm look on your vehicle was it to your liking and can you show us pictures of what the retrofit look like. I like to see it as this is my first time doing it when I have money to buy everything I want.

 

[DIY Fixer]

Sparky it is so easy just like this.. Self Explanatory: http://www.morimotohid.com/media/custom/upload/MiniH1-7.pdf and http://www.morimotohid.com/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-h1-7-0-projectors.html The one you were talking about, but I am still researching on places to buy them from.

I see how the solenoid work for high beam on those projector. Unclip the plug from the stock High Beam bulb and plug it into the solenoid plug and done no soldering require.

 

[dmanns67]

10000k, no wonder you have issues seeing anything at night. For maximum lumen output, you want between 4300k and 5000k. 35w is plenty.

The MH1 projectors are as plug and play as it gets. I finished my headlight retro in 4.5 hours start to finish. Nothing wrong with a bi-xenon projector as the extra light is great with the diode mod (4hi or 6hi).

@Midnyteryder196 is currently selling the diode mod kit for the 4hi and 6hi if you are interested. Soldered up and ready to go.

If you use theretrofitsource.com for retrofit parts, use coupon code "TRSHJ" for 10% off your order. Their warranty and customer service is worth their prices.

 

[DIY Fixer]

@dmanns67 I am going to switch from 10000K to a very lower temperature color soon. I seen what MAY03LT said that he is using the 4300K 35w ballast which is fine. I like very bright light and thinking about getting 6000K bulbs since I already have a 55w Ballast than it will be plenty bright. Got my HID kit from www.carxenonhidkits.com

The MH1 projector description of the product said ONLY 35W BALLAST. I guess I have to buy another HID kit that a 35w Ballast so I can use those MH1 projector.

 

[littleblazer]

35 watts in a projector is crazy. 55 is just not necessary. There is a retrofit source discount floating around here, if you order this kit https://www.theretrofitsource.com/c...orimoto-mini-stage-3-kit-h1.html#.VrSVXXpOnqA you will have literally everything you need.

 

[Midnyteryder196]

After the guy in that video said he have a 4Hi Mod I search for it and found a bunch of infos and videos. All you do is take the diode and solder it to the wire but Diode with the markings is pointing towards the low beam side. I am not sure what kind of Diode are being use though.

@Midnyteryder196 is currently selling the diode mod kit for the 4hi and 6hi if you are interested. Soldered up and ready to go.

Thanks for the mention @dmanns67

you can use any diode really.. all your doing is putting it on the signal side of the relays, so its not drawing hardly any amperage.. Ive used both 3amp and now using 1amp diodes. and the silver stripe on the diode points towards the high beam relay.. I have a very detailed write up about the method HERE and like dave mentioned i do have a few soldered up and ready for shipment if you would rather go that route.